"Jamie's not going to be that vocal person around everyone if you're not his teammate,'' said Kirksey. "In the locker room, he's cool to everyone. He's always joking around. He takes football seriously. People respect him because he talks less and does more. His game speaks for itself. He's always constantly teaching guys the knowledge of the game. That's something you can really enjoy being around because he's won the games.

"He's gone to the Super Bowl. A lot of guys want to reach those goals. He's done it all. He has a lot of knowledge he can pass down coming from New England and a winning program. Guys are eager and willing to listen.

"Jamie's in good spirits,'' he said. "He stays encouraged. He's looking forward. You only can control what you can control. He made a great play, and it was unfortunate that the play ended in the way it did. But for Jamie, he's just trying to encourage guys that he's going to be all right and encourage guys to keep moving forward. That's something that he's doing right now.

"He's teaching the younger guys. He's talking to James, letting him know, 'Hey, when I'm out, you're going to have to step up.'''